{"id":890966,"date":"2026-09-10T21:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/890966\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T21:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:38:17","slug":"40-award-winning-photos-from-ocean-photographer-of-the-year-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/890966\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Award-Winning Photos From Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/opoy-2026-winners-featured-800x420.jpg\" alt=\"A split-screen image showing a black-and-white close-up of a seahorse on the left and a crocodile swimming underwater on the right.\" width=\"800\" height=\"420\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-873830\"   loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"sync\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competition have been revealed, showcasing an incredible array of exceptional underwater and marine-related photos that reflect the beauty of the world\u2019s oceans and all their inhabitants. <\/p>\n<p>Last month, Oceanographic and Blancpain revealed some <a href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/2026\/08\/16\/13-jaw-dropping-photos-from-ocean-photographer-of-the-year\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">incredible finalists<\/a> from the competition, but now the full winners are here, and they were worth the wait. <\/p>\n<p> Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026  <\/p>\n<p>French photographer Julien Anton has been named the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 for his stunning black-and-white portrait of a male seahorse and two tiny juveniles. The young seahorses, barely visible against the pitch-black ocean background, provide a strong sense of scale and a storytelling element in the frame. <\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"pp-lightbox\" href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/assets\/uploads\/2026\/09\/wildlife-1st-Julien-Anton-1920x1280-1.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/wildlife-1st-Julien-Anton-1920x1280-1-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A large, textured seahorse faces a tiny, miniature seahorse against a stark black background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-873810\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/a>Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 \u2014 Julien Anton <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe spent countless hours searching in difficult conditions, with no guarantee of finding a single seahorse. That is what made the moment so extraordinary \u2014 when the juveniles turned back towards the adult, it felt like something far beyond what I had dared to hope for,\u201d Anton explains. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not a professional photographer; for me, photography is simply how I share what I see and feel. My hope is that this image can serve as a bridge between science, conservation and a world that deserves to know what is at stake,\u201d Anton continues. <\/p>\n<p>Anton\u2019s photo also took top prize in the Ocean Wildlife category. <\/p>\n<p> Female Fifty Fathoms Award  <\/p>\n<p>British photographer Jenny Stock won the Female Fifty Fathoms Award this year. Created in 2021, this special award celebrates pioneering women in ocean photography. <\/p>\n<p>Unlike the rest of the competition, which features photos entered by photographers worldwide, Stock was nominated by her peers and judged alongside other nominees by the Ocean Photographer of the Year jury. <\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"pp-lightbox\" href=\"https:\/\/petapixel.com\/assets\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fifty-fathoms-award-jenny-stock-opoy-2026-copy.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fifty-fathoms-award-jenny-stock-opoy-2026-copy-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A crocodile swims underwater near mangrove roots and seagrass in a clear, shallow environment.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" class=\"size-large wp-image-873831\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/a>Female Fifty Fathoms Award Winner \u2014 Jenny Stock | Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be nominated by fellow photographers means more to me than I can easily put into words \u2014 this community is everything,\u201d Stock explains. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Female Fifty Fathoms Award is particularly special because it celebrates the achievements and passion of women in ocean photography, and the women who have previously won it are exceptionally talented, so it\u2019s a privilege to join their ranks,\u201d she continues. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe connection to the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watch \u2014 one of diving\u2019s most iconic timepieces \u2014 makes it even more extraordinary. I\u2019m honored beyond measure, and I hope this recognition inspires more women to pick up a camera and discover the magic that\u2019s beneath the surface.\u201d <\/p>\n<p> Category Winners  <\/p>\n<p>Over 15,000 photographers entered this year\u2019s competition, battling it out across seven primary categories with an eighth Ocean Portfolio Award in the mix. <\/p>\n<p> Wildlife    Fine Art    Adventure    Conservation (Impact)    Conservation (Hope)   Human Connection Award<br \/>\n  The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds    Ocean Portfolio Award    Selected Finalists  <\/p>\n<p>There were some incredible finalists that ultimately did not win awards. Galleries of all of the finalists are <a href=\"https:\/\/oceanographicmagazine.com\/winners-gallery\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">available on Oceanographic<\/a>. PetaPixel has selected some to highlight. <\/p>\n<p class=\"post-image-credits\">Image creditsOcean Photographer of the Year is presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain<\/p>\n<p> Affiliate Disclosure PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; we may earn a commission if you buy through one. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competition have been revealed, showcasing an incredible array&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":890967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":["post-890966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}